Friday, August 21, 2009

The Perfect Southern Cottage Garden Plant?


The "cottage" garden idea originated in England, which has a damp and cool climate. For that reason, most of the traditional cottage garden plants are those that thrive in moist and cool conditions. You see plenty of delphiniums and calendulas and such. That's all well and fine if you live in the Pacific Northwest or New England, but what if you live in hot, humid Dixie and you want a cottage garden? You have to look elsewhere to find the same pastel blues and pinks. I present to you a prime candidate for the perfect SOUTHERN cottage garden plant - the plumbago. What makes it so good? Well, mine comes back every year, it continually blooms all the way till frost, it has that perfect pastel blue color, it has a pleasingly full shape, it has no pests and needs no spraying, it thrives in the heat, it mixes well as a companion to other flowers, and it very easily roots so you can propagate more of them. Below are some pictures of my plumbago. You can see by the dates on the photos that it has been blooming steadily since May. It will keep this up till November. That is seven months of solid blooming! What is not to love?













2 comments:

Jean Campbell said...

A neighbor on the street where our son lives in the Florida Panhandle has nothing but roses and plumbago in his front yard. You'd have to see it!

Jan said...

I love plumbago! Mine was a little slow coming back from the winter cold, but it certainly has made up for the slow start.

Jan
Always Growing